Local man denies rape and possession of gun

(CNS): A man accused of raping a woman at her home last year while in possession of a gun has denied having a weapon or forcing the woman to have sex. Dwight Wright said that he was invited to the complainant’s house, where he had consensual sex and was unarmed. However, the victim said that Wight kicked in the door of her home, as evidenced by his foot print on it and the damaged frame, and then forced himself upon the woman. The victim said she did not scream or try to fight off her attacker, whom she once had a relationship with, because aside from living in a remote area, she felt she would have still come off the worst.

Clearly distressed and reluctant to given evidence at first, the victim told the court she did not want to pursue the complaint as she was so nervous and just wanted to put the incident behind her. However, questions put to the witness by the prosecuting counsel, Trisha Hutchinson, saw the woman relent and repeat the evidence from the witness stand that she had given to the police the morning after the incident.

She told the court how she was watching TV at her home on the evening of 13 June when Wright crashed into her home by kicking in the door. She said he had a small gun in his pocket and although he did not threaten her with it she was frightened about what he might do. Taking her phone from her he forced her into the bedroom where the sexual assault took place. The victim revealed that Wright had persisted with the assault throughout the night and left around 5:30 the next morning, when she called 911 and reported the attack.

The victim told the court that she and Wright were at one time intimate but when she realized there was "something not right about him” and that he was "unstable”, she ended the relationship some four months before the rape happened. Despite this, she said, Wright continued to stalk and harass her, damaging her property, stealing from her and constantly calling her. She said she had reported his harassment to the police on many occasions but little was done to help her.

Under cross examination she admitted that she had called Wright herself on the day in question but she said it was when she stopped returning his calls and texts in the evening that he had then come to her house. The victim also admitted calling the defendant after the incident while she was driving with a female police officer to the hospital for the post assault rape-kit. She said this was to tell him she had reported him to the police and that this time he was not going to get away with it.

The victim denied the suggestions placed by defence attorney John Furniss that his client was unarmed and that he had gone to her home at her invitation where consensual sex had taken place.

The case, which is being heard in a judge alone trial before Justice Alex Henderson, continues Tuesday and is expected to last three days.